Know the rules and judging criteria. If the speech evaluation contest is under the auspices of Toastmasters, clubs usually follow a standard set of rules. If it is being sponsored by some other organization, learn the rules. The judging criteria for Toastmasters evaluation contests is 40 percent for analytical quality, 30 percent for recommendations and 15 percent each for summation and technique.
Listen carefully to the target speech. Organize your notes into two sections, one for the speech structure and the other for the technical elements. Look for areas of improvement that others might miss, suggests Toastmaster Andrew Dlugan on his public speaking website "Six Minutes." After the speech, you will have five minutes to write and rehearse your evaluation.
Open your evaluation by greeting the audience members and the judges. Compliment the target speaker on his speech. Transition quickly to the core of the evaluation. Dlugan recommends a "sandwich" style of evaluation, which layers recommendations for improvement between areas of strength.
Winning evaluations focus on analysis and recommendations because they account for 70 percent of the scoring. Incorporate technical elements into your evaluation, especially eye contact and vocal inflections, says Toastmaster Regina Jaslow. Provide concrete examples. For example, instead of "I feel that you should use more eye contact," say "I felt that you could have made eye contact with all sections of the room, staying five to seven seconds in each section."
Style elements are a relatively small part of the overall score, but winning contestants know how to deliver evaluation presentations "with flair," says Toastmaster and evaluation contest winner Edna Talboy.
Wrap up your evaluation on an optimistic note. Restate the main recommendations. For example: "To sum up, thank you, Jane, for that excellent speech. I certainly learned a lot. I feel that the two areas for improvement are eye contact and more use of visual images and examples in the body of the speech."